there are a couple of HUGE issues with "cover systems". first and the most important is that they are essentially a cheat if done in third person mod. you can see up and over the containers or around corners while the npcs cannot. games are easy enough as it is i dont need anymore help thank you. the second one is that they have to justify having all sorts of waste high objects randomly scattered around the game world. when i was playing ME2 i kept thinking that all the dock workers were on strike or something cause there were always tons of crates just lying around at odd angles. in the end it makes the game world look incredibly stupid.

the best ive seen (havent played Crysis 2 yet so i cant comment on that) is the one they are putting in red orchestra 2. you essentially hug whatever your hiding behind BUT you can only see beyond it if you poke your head over and risk getting shot. you can also blind fire in that game which is kind of neat. i do agree with the wall hugging in the thief games though. that was kind of nifty even though i personally rarely used it.

i cant wait for this fad to go away and i think its more of a "run n gun" gameplay mechanic than a "swords n boards".

I agree with the sentiment of your post but have a small note. Playing in 3rd person already "cheats" like you said. You can just stand next to the wall and rotate the camera so that is kind of a non issue. I would accept it if it didn't force 3rd person but like you said (more specifically what I said), let's wait for Fallout 4

No for reasons listed and these if not mentioned.

I dont want to be forced in 3rd person
I dont want cover to be essential
I dont want to accidentally use cover when i just want to be near a wall
hiding in shadows and crouching is enough
los to add to ^^
insta-kills by pushing a single button are a bad idea for this type of game.
this isnt gears of war or splinter cell, or a first person shooter. What do they all have in common? they all use guns, cover is not needed or wanted!

Please for the love of Alduin (sp?) no cover!!

Please no "press button to win" [censored] in Skyrim. Cover system is present in other games to artificially make up for the lack of line of sight tracking etc. It's a poor design and it would svck very very much. If you want to hide - crouch, don't run, hide behind objects and/or stay in shadows - like in oblivion.

I don't see what's preventing you from walking up to a wall and walking against it by your own volition.

Don't need a button to do that.

And certainly don't need the gears of war cover system.